Demetrious Johnson Speaks Out About Mistreatment from the UFC

Demetrious Johnson Speaks Out About Mistreatment from the UFC

The current, and only, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson has issued a lengthy statement in which he discusses the UFC’s negligence and ‘bullying’ towards him.

A series of images that displayed Johnson’s disagreement with the likes of UFC president Dana White and matchmakers Sean Selby and Mick Maynard first appeared on Reddit’s MMA page.

Currently on the verge of breaking the record for most consecutive UFC title defenses, ‘Mighty Mouse’ said that the UFC had offered him a fight against Ray Borg.

“UFC Matchmaker Mick Maynard called and offered the fight vs Ray Borg. I thought (Sergio) Pettis was a more marketable name and on a longer winning streak. Mick went back to dana, then came back and told us that I had no choice, it was going to be Ray Borg not Pettis, and there were no other options.”

That was until the former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw’s name floated into the conversation.

‘Mighty Mouse’ expressed his frustration with the refusal to acknowledge that Dillashaw may not be able to make the 125-pound weight limit, eliminating the possibility of breaking the record.

“First, TJ has never fought at Flyweight and is unlikely to make the weight. Second, they have already told me that a fight between Cody (Garbrandt) and I wouldn’t be sellable, so fighting TJ would have no monetary upside. Third, TJ is not a flyweight or a current champion in another weight class, and was KO’ed by the flyweight whom I beat twice already.”

(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Understandably reluctant to face an opponent who has never fought in his weight class before, Maynard told Johnson that they “guaranteed TJ would make weight.” However, as a backup, they assured that if for some reason Dillashaw couldn’t make the 125-pound weight limit, Borg would be on the card and could fill in for TJ if need be. Johnson spoke about the absurdity of the situation.

“We said, oh, then which one do I train for? I thought TJ guaranteed he was making weight, Is it a world championship with the #1 pound for pound fighter on earth, or an amateur tournament where I don’t know who I’m fighting until I get there. The fact that they said Ray will be a backup shows the lack of respect they have for what we go through in preparing for a fight at this level.”

On a larger scale, ‘Mighty Mouse’ addressed the lack of marketing and promotion of his division. Paying “very close attention” to the divisions around him, Johnson argued that outside of his fight against Tim Elliot at The Ultimate Fighter 24, it would be ‘hard-pressed’ to find much, if anything, that has been done to promote the #1 pound for pound fighter on the UFC roster.

As of now, it seems that the UFC is sticking to their somewhat stubborn decision of booking Johnson vs. Dillashaw with Borg as a backup for the fight. Denying Johnson any financial incentive if Dillashaw can’t make the walk to the octagon, Mighty Mouse concluded by saying this is “typical of the unfulfilled promises that has gone on through my UFC career.”

UFC 222 has been saved, and it didn’t take a superhero to lift the burning boulder which was Max Holloway’s injury and withdrawal. All it took was a female named Cyborg and a man with a demeanor so smooth, he could be mistaken for an alter-ego. Cris Cyborg now serves as the UFC 222 main event when she defends her featherweight belt against Yana Kunitskaya. Frankie Edgar bumped down to the co-main event to face Brian Ortega in what is likely a title eliminator. The news of the UFC 222 revival originally stemmed from a report by MMAFighting.com and confirmed later in the evening by the UFC.

Over the course of the week, reports surrounded the Las Vegas card and whether it would survive. Multiple options were reportedly being mulled over; cancelling the card outright, changing the pay-per-view (PPV) to a ‘Fight Night’ with an Edgar vs. Ortega main event, Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2 main event, among others. Ultimately, the promotion landed on Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya as the new main event, while also booking Brian Ortega.

This adjustment of the card places their women’s Featherweight champion in the second PPV main event in three months. Cris Cyborg recently put her undisputed Featherweight title on the line against Holly Holm at the year ending card, UFC 219. She successfully defended her belt by unanimous decision, in what was an amazing technical display from the Brazilian. In her octagon career, Cyborg is undefeated in her four appearances with three KO/TKO stoppages.

The second half of the new main event, Yana Kunitskaya, makes her UFC debut against the scariest women on the roster. If the 145 lb. champion was not enough of a challenge, Kunitskaya also makes her first appearance in the division since defeating Cindy Dandois in December of 2010. Of Russia descent, her most recent performances came inside the Invicta FC cage. At the female-only promotion, she posted a record of 1-1, with 1 No Contest. Her loss and no contest, both came at the hands of former UFC Featherweight title challenger, Tonya Evinger.

Turning to the co-main event, both fighters have been relatively inactive but, for good reason. Brian Ortega amazingly forced perennial men’s Featherweight contender, Cub Swanson, to tap in the second round of their ‘Fight Night: Fresno’ contest. Ortega fought twice in 2017, but more-so stayed inactive following his stoppage victory over Swanson. The Californian contender announced his desire to wait in line for the next title shot following the recent victory.

For Frankie Edgar, his last fight took place at UFC 211 when he absolutely demolished young and rising star, Yair Rodriguez. A card which took place last May. While Ortega holds an undefeated record, Edgar is undefeated in his previous 9 fights, excluding people named Jose Aldo.

UFC 222 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 3rd.

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UFC Middleweight Champion, Robert Whittaker Announces Birth of Third Child

Times seem dull and dreary for the UFC’s Middleweight Champion, Robert Whittaker. The New Zealand born fighter withdrew from the promotions event debut in the eastern region of his residence, Australia. UFC 221, which takes place this Saturday, booked Whittaker to defend his title for the first time against former division champion, Luke Rockhold. His withdrawal was due to mistreatment of a serious staph infection inside of the Australians stomach.

It couldn’t get much worse, having to disappoint fans, and missing the first UFC event in eastern Australia. As it turns out, it could not get worse for Whittaker. Life only got better, as he had the pleasure of announcing the birth of his third child.

His new child is the champions third and first girl. Information regarding his child is limited as this moment is a tender and special time for the Whittaker family.

UFC 221 takes place in Perth, Australia at Perth Arena on February 11th. The cards main event features Whittakers short notice replacement, Yoel Romero taking on Luke Rockhold. Much to the satiety of fans, an interim belt is not in the equation in this instance.

Four days after adding an important Heavyweight clash to UFC Glendale, the promotion booked another crucial bout, in the Welterweight division. While, neither fighter ranks inside the top 15 of the Welterweight division, both sit at pivotal points in their career. In the case of Lima, he comes off a second appearance on the reality series, The Ultimate Fighter. Much like his first appearance, the Welterweight made the competition finals.

Lima first appeared on the reality series during Season 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn. In the preliminary round, he defeated Adam Stroup via unanimous decision (2 rounds), to earn a place in the house. From there, he submitted both his quarter-final and semi-final opponents. Lima left the Ultimate Fighter house undefeated, down the line, he did a similar thing on the 25th season of the show. He defeated Hayder Hassan, Gilbert Smith, and Tom Gallicchio, all by unanimous decision leaving the house undefeated for a second time.

Unfortunately, the inverse of his performances in the ‘TUF’ house came to fruition in the finals. In two Ultimate Fighter Finale’s, his record fell to 0-2, following Ultimate Fighter Finale Season 25. What happened to be even more unfortunate, Lima’s opponent at, The Ultimate Fighter Finale Season 25, Jesse Taylor, tested positive for the anti-estrogen agent clomiphene. The sample collected for the failed drug test was in an out-of-competition setting, therefor Lima’s loss to Taylor stands. The loss puts his record with the UFC at, 1-4.

A loss shouldn’t place Lima near the chopping block but, a win would greatly improve his standing with the promotion. The other half of the newly announced bout, is in a similar position.

Yushin Okami made his first appearance for the promotion at UFC 62. Okami earned the victory in his debut. The win marked his third consecutive win in the midst of a six fight win-streak. Over the course of those six victories, Okami defeated Alan Belcher (UFC 62), Kalib Starnes (UFC 64), Rory Singer (UFC 66), and Mike Swick (UFC 69). The Japanese born mixed martial artist remained on the roster for seven more years before being cut following a first round TKO loss to Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza.

Okami fought for various organizations following his release, while also dropping down to Welterweight. When, in the latter part of 2017, he was called upon as a short-notice injury replacement by the UFC. Seven days before UFC Fight Night 117: St. Preux vs. Rua, one half of the main event, Maurico Rua, withdrew due to an apparent knee injury. Okami answered the call, giving him seven days to prepare for rising Light Heavyweight contender, Ovince St. Preux. The Japanese native lost the contest by submission in the opening round.

UFC Fight Night Glendale takes place in Glendale Arizona at the Gila River Arena on April 14th. The main event features Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirer.